JP2003190079A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To omit an attachment or detachment of a valve means and a cleaning sheath to or from an endoscope and to realize an improvement in rotatability of an operating unit with a simple constitution in the endoscope in which a position for disposing the valve means is variable in response to an operator's grasping method. <P>SOLUTION: A rear grip 16 for housing and holding a control valve 17 is assembled so as to allow the grip 16 to be disposed by selecting a plurality of positions in an endoscope operating unit 3, and a strut 25 for coupling the grip 16 to the operating unit 3 is disposed in the grip 16 so that the position of the strut 25 is located at a position not interfered with the valve 17 at a plurality of positions where the grip 16 can be disposed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with a control valve on an endoscope operation section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in surgical operations. During surgery, fluid may adhere to the objective lens and obstruct the field of view during use of the endoscope. For this reason, in general endoscopes, water supply and air supply means are incorporated to perform air supply and water supply, and remove the substances adhering to the distal end of the endoscope.

For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-173283, control valves for supplying a cleaning medium are detachably provided at a plurality of positions of an endoscope operation section, and the endoscope insertion section is operated by operating the control valves. By feeding the cleaning medium to the cleaning sheath attached to the, the dirt attached to the objective lens is removed.

[0004]

The valve means disclosed in the above-mentioned prior art has an advantage that the valve can be attached at a desired position according to the method of gripping the endoscope by the operator. However, since the valve means has an external structure to the operating portion, the handling of the valve means is complicated, and the operating portion becomes large in size, and sufficient operability may not be obtained. Further, in the case of this prior art, in order to construct a configuration in which the cleaning medium controlled by the valve means is guided to the objective lens, a cleaning sheath is attached to the endoscope insertion portion, and the work of assembling the pipe from the valve to the cleaning sheath is performed. I had to do it, and I had to prepare for it.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object thereof is an endoscope in which the position of arranging the valve means is variable according to the grasping method of the operator. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope capable of omitting attachment / detachment of the valve means and the cleaning sheath to / from the endoscope and improving the maneuverability of the operating portion with a simple configuration.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In an endoscope in which a control valve for supplying a cleaning medium to the distal end portion of the endoscope is provided in the endoscope operation section, a case member for accommodating and holding the control valve is provided at a plurality of positions in the endoscope operation section. Assembled so that they can be selected and arranged, a connecting member for connecting the case member to the endoscope operation section is provided inside the case member, and the connection is made at a plurality of positions where the case member can be arranged. It is characterized in that the position of the member does not interfere with the control valve. The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the case member is capable of rotating relative to the endoscope operation portion within a specified angle range and continuously changing its position. It is an endoscope.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION <First Embodiment> An endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Structure) As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope body 1 constituting an endoscope according to this embodiment has an elongated insertion portion 2
An operation part 3 provided at the base end of the insertion part 2 so as to be rotatable with respect to the insertion part 2, a universal cable 4 extending from the base end side of the operation part 3, and the universal cable A branch connector 5 is provided at the end of 4.

An objective lens 6 is attached to an observation window (or an imaging window) provided on the tip surface of the tip portion 7 of the insertion section 2. A solid-state image pickup device such as a charge image pickup device (CCD), which is not shown, is arranged at the image forming position of the objective lens 6 in the tip portion 7, and these form an image pickup means. A lens cleaning nozzle 10 that opens toward the objective lens 6 and an illumination lens 11 that faces the front are arranged in the vicinity of the objective lens 6 on the tip surface of the tip portion 7.

The tip portion 7 is connected to a long and rigid portion 9 through a curved portion 8 provided adjacent to the base end thereof. The bending portion 8 can be bent in four directions of up, down, left and right. A long and hard part 9 adjacent to the base end of the curved part 8
The base end of is connected to the operation unit 3. A front grip 12 as a first gripping portion to be gripped by an operator is provided on the insertion portion side portion of the operation portion 3.

A VTR (not shown) is provided on the front grip 12.
A remote switch 61 for remotely operating a video recording device such as CCU or the like (not shown) is provided. An operation portion main body 13 incorporating a bending mechanism for bending the bending portion 8 is provided on the proximal end side of the front grip 12. The operation portion main body 13 is provided with an up / down bending lever 14 for performing an operation of controlling the up / down bending and a left / right bending lever 15 for performing an operation of controlling the left / right bending. A rear grip 16 as a second grip portion having a substantially circular cross section and having a length sufficient for the operator to grip is provided on the proximal end side of the operation portion main body 13.

The rear grip 16 is provided with a control valve 17 for supplying a cleaning medium such as cleaning liquid or air to the lens cleaning nozzle 10. The rear grip 16 functions as a case member that houses and holds the control valve 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the control valve 17 includes a substantially cylindrical cylinder portion 18 protruding inside the rear grip 16.
And an air / water supply button 19 combined with this. The cylinder portion 18 is connected with a liquid feed pipe 20 and an air pipe 21 guided from the branch connector 5 through the inside of the universal cable 4, and the cylinder portion 1
From 8 to the insertion part 2 side, a tip side liquid supply conduit 22 and a tip side air conduit 23 are connected. By operating the air / water supply button 19, the liquid supply conduit 20
And the tip side liquid supply conduit 22, and the air conduit 21 and the tip side air conduit 23 are selectively communicated.

The tip side liquid supply conduit 22 and the tip side air conduit 23 are not shown in the rigid part 9 of the insertion part 1
It joins two conduits, and the tip portion thereof is connected to the lens cleaning nozzle 10. And the air / water button 19
Is operated to send the cleaning liquid or the pressurized air from the lens cleaning nozzle 10 toward the lens surface of the objective lens 6. As a result, it is possible to wash away the adhering matter that has adhered to the lens surface and blow off the water droplets that have adhered to the lens surface to obtain a good visual field.

As shown in FIG. 3, a disk-ring-shaped pedestal 24 is uniquely positioned on the operation unit body 13 at the mouth of the operation unit body 13 on the rear grip 16 side, and is fixed by a screw. On the pedestal 24, four pillars 25 project in the longitudinal direction of the operation portion 3 and are arranged and fixed at the four corner positions shown in FIG. The other end of the pillar 25 on the protruding side is screwed integrally with the cap fixing member 26 of the universal cable 4. That is, the universal cable 4
The operation portion main body 13 is fixed to the mouthpiece fixing member 26 by the pillar 25.

As shown in FIG. 5, engagement portions 16a, 13a are provided at the fitting portion between the rear grip 16 and the operation portion main body 13 as positioning means for the rear grip 16 in the rotational direction. As shown in FIG. 5, there are two engaging portions 13a of the operation portion main body 13, each of which is formed at a position different by 90 ° in the rotational direction. Further, the engagement portion 16a of the rear grip 16 can be engaged with a selected one of the engagement portions 13a of the operation portion main body 13 to assemble the rear grip 16 and the operation portion main body 13. For example, in the assembled state shown in FIG. 5, the air / water supply button 19 is arranged on the surface where the remote switch 61 and the bending levers 14 and 15 are located, and the air / water supply button 19 is at the position shown by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 4. . At this time, the member of the cylinder portion 18 is located between the columns 25 as a connecting member and does not interfere with the columns 25.

Further, 90 from the position in the state shown in FIG.
When the rear grip 16 and the operating portion main body 13 are assembled by relatively rotating the engaging portions 16a and 13a to engage each other, the cylinder portion 18 is arranged at the position shown by the broken line in FIG.
Also at this time, the cylinder portion 18 passes between the columns 25,
Does not interfere with the pillar 25.

That is, in this embodiment, the positions of the columns 25 supported on the pedestal 24 are approximately 45 ° in both directions with respect to the positions of the members of the cylinder portion 18 with respect to the center of the pedestal 24. Each diagonal 3 in the rotated position
It will be located on 7.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the outside of a circle whose radius is the distance from the center of the pedestal 24 to the intersection 36 of the outer diameter of the substantially cylindrical cylinder portion 18 and the diagonal line 37. The columns 25 are arranged in the above so that the cylinder portion 18 and the columns 25 do not interfere with each other. The positions of the columns 25 satisfying such a condition are four positions shown in FIG.

Therefore, with the rear grip 16 positioned at any of the above angular positions, a nut 27 is screwed into the mouthpiece fixing member 26 from the rear end side of the rear grip 16 as shown in FIG. Then, a break stopper 28 for preventing the universal cable 4 from breaking is screwed into the base fixing member 26. In this state, the rear grip 16 is positioned and fixed to the operation portion main body 13.

In addition to the cylinder portion 18, a CCD cable 29, a remote switch cable 30, and a light guide cable 31 are passed through the inside of the rear grip 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vertical bending engagement lever 50 is provided on the side surface of the operation portion main body 13 for frictionally fixing the vertical bending angle by the operation of the vertical bending lever 14 and for releasing it. It is provided freely. Left and right curved engagement levers (not shown) are similarly provided on the opposite side surface.

As shown in FIG. 1, a light guide connector 49, to which one end of the light guide cable 31 is arranged, and an air supply pin 32, to which the air duct 21 is connected, project from the end face of the branch connector 5. ing. When the branch connector 5 is connected to a light source device (not shown),
Light guide cable 31 of light guide connector 49
The illumination light is condensed on the light incident end surface of the
Is connected to an air supply pump (not shown) inside the light source device.

Inside the branch connector 5, the pipe line connected to the air supply pin 32 is branched into two, and one is connected to the air supply port pin 33 projecting to the side of the branch connector 5. The other is connected to the air conduit 21. Next to the air supply mouthpiece pin 33, a liquid supply mouthpiece pin 34 is provided so as to project. The liquid delivery nozzle pin 34 is connected to the liquid delivery conduit 20 inside the branch connector 5. The mouthpiece 35a of the liquid supply bottle 35 containing the cleaning liquid can be connected to the air supply mouthpiece pin 33 and the liquid supply mouthpiece pin 34.

Further, a camera cable 54 is provided from the outer surface of the branch connector 5 so as to be adjacent to the air supply / liquid supply mouthpiece pins 33 and 34 and in the same direction. With such an arrangement structure, the connecting parts of the camera cable 54 serve to protect the pin portions of the air supply / liquid supply mouthpiece pins 33 and 34. A camera connector 40 is provided at the end of the camera cable 54. This camera connector 4
Reference numeral 0 is detachably connected to a camera control unit (CCU) (not shown) that performs signal processing for the image pickup means.

Therefore, by connecting the camera connector 40 to a camera control unit (not shown), a drive signal is applied from the drive circuit in the camera control unit to the solid-state image pickup device built in the tip portion 7 of the insertion portion 2, and the solid-state image sensor is driven. The image pickup signal photoelectrically converted by the image pickup device is read out and input to the signal processing circuit in the camera control unit. Then, a standard video signal is generated in the signal processing circuit, this video signal is input to a monitor (not shown), and is displayed as an endoscopic image on this monitor.

Further, the branch connector 5 is provided with a vent mouth ring 57 with a sealing valve at a position symmetrical to the installation position of the camera cable 54 so that the endoscope body 1 can be checked for water leaks. There is.

(Operation) When the endoscope is used, the branch connector 5 is connected to the light source device (not shown) and the camera connector 40 is connected to the camera control unit. Next, the base 3 of the liquid delivery bottle 35 containing the cleaning liquid
5a is a branch connector 5 for supplying air and liquid supply port pins 33, 34
Connect to.

Next, when the endoscope is used with the insertion portion 2 in a substantially horizontal state, the rear grip 16 is grasped with the up / down bending lever 14 and the left / right bending lever 15 facing up, and the thumb is used. Perform bending operation. This is the common method. In this gripping state, the air / water feeding button 19 is in either the center position (state of FIG. 1) or the position rotated 90 ° from the center (state of FIG. 6) depending on the mounting direction of the rear grip 16.

Objective lens 6 during surgical operation under endoscopic observation
When dirt adheres to the surface of the lens, the air / water supply button 19 is pressed to inject the cleaning liquid in the liquid supply bottle 35 or the pressurized air from the air supply pump from the lens cleaning nozzle 10 toward the lens surface. Remove dirt.

At this time, when the air / water supply button 19 is at the center position (state of FIG. 1), the operation of the air / water supply button 19 is performed with the thumb.

On the other hand, in the state of FIG. 6 in which the air / water supply button 19 is rotated 90 ° with respect to the center position, the operation is performed with the index finger.

By the way, the installation position of the air / water supply button 19 can be appropriately changed according to the operator's preference. That is, the bending stopper 28 and the nut 27 are loosened from the base fixing member 26, and the engaging portion 16a of the rear grip 16 is moved to the operating portion main body 1
3 is removed from the engaging portion 13a, and the support 25 is attached to the pedestal 2
4, the rear grip 16 is rotated 90 ° with respect to the operation portion main body 13 and is fixed again to change the orientation according to the operator's preference.

Further, in the case of the left grip, the support column 25 and the engaging portion 13a of the operation portion main body 13 are provided at the positions inverted with respect to the positions shown in FIGS. Operation becomes possible.

(Effect) According to the present embodiment, since the air / water feeding function is incorporated in the endoscope body 1, the preparation and the use thereof are complicated as compared with the conventional method of attaching the cleaning sheath to the endoscope body. The maneuverability inside is improved. Air / water supply button 19, bending levers 14 and 15, remote switch 61
If you arrange the lines in a straight line, you will have a unified sense of operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent each operation from being confused during the operation.

On the other hand, in the above case, the air / water supply button 19 may hinder the operation when the bending lever is operated with the thumb. Air supply / water supply button 19 90 ° from the center position
In the rotated state, the thumb easily reaches the bending levers 14 and 15. In addition, since the air / water feeding button 19 can be operated with the index finger, the air / water feeding button 19 can be pushed in a state in which the operation portion main body 13 is tightly wrapped in the palm, and as a result, the tip of the insertion portion 2 is pushed. It also helps prevent blurring.

Further, the positions of the above-mentioned two kinds of the air / water supply button 19 can be easily changed according to the operator's preference, and as a result, the operability is improved.

<Second Embodiment> An endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

(Structure) This embodiment is different from the endoscope according to the first embodiment described above in the following points. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the engaging portion that engages with the engaging portion 16a of the rear grip 16 in the operation portion main body 13 has a shape cut out over approximately 90 °, and this engaging portion is formed into the rotation guide portion 13b. And

As in the first embodiment, the arranging position of the pillar 25 erected on the pedestal 24 is a diagonal line 37 rotated by about 45 ° with respect to the arranging position of the cylinder portion 18 with respect to the center of the pedestal 24. Further, the support column 25 is provided on the outer side of a circle having a radius from the center of the pedestal 24 to the intersection 36 of the outer diameter of the substantially cylindrical cylinder portion 18 and the diagonal line 37.

However, the support column 25 is not arranged within the angle range where the rotation guide portion 13b is formed. That is, the rotation guide portion 13 is based on the center of the pedestal 24.
On the diagonal line rotated about 45 ° in the direction in which b is not formed, in other words, outside the region where the cylinder portion 18 continuously rotates within the angular range of the rotation guide portion 13b.
5 are arranged so that the cylinder portion 18 and the support column 25 do not interfere with each other. There are two positions shown in FIG. 7 that satisfy this condition.

When the cables such as the CCD cable 29, the remote switch cable 30, and the light guide cable 31 that pass through the inside of the rear grip 16 are fixed to the side surface of the cylinder portion 18 with an adhesive or the like and the cylinder portion 18 rotates,
The above cables are prevented from being caught between the cylinder portion 18 and the column 25.

Further, it is preferable to provide a click mechanism (not shown) so that the click fixing position is appropriately set within the rotation range to prevent the rear grip 16 from rotating unintentionally during use.

(Operation) Since the nut 27 does not tighten the rear grip 16 (the screwing end of the nut 27 is in contact with the mouthpiece fixing member 26), the rear grip 16 has a sliding resistance of the watertight ring 36 and is a rotation guide portion. It rotates continuously within the angle range of 13b. Other functions are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

(Effect) According to the present embodiment, the position of the air / water supply button 19 can be continuously changed within the rotation range, so that various gripping methods can be supported. Further, since the position of the air / water feeding button 19 can be changed immediately without the need for a tool, the turning operation can be easily performed even during the operation.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Further, according to the above description, the items listed below and any combination of the items listed below can be obtained.

(Appendix) 1. In an endoscope in which a control valve for supplying a cleaning medium to the endoscope tip portion is provided in the endoscope operation section, a case member for accommodating and holding the control valve is provided at a plurality of positions in the endoscope operation section. Assembled so that they can be selected and arranged, a connecting member for connecting the case member to the endoscope operation section is disposed inside the case member, and the connection is made at a plurality of positions where the case member can be arranged. An endoscope characterized in that the position of the member is such that it does not interfere with the control valve. 2. The endoscope according to item 1, wherein the case member is rotatable relative to the endoscope operation section within a specified angle range and can continuously change its position. 3. The connecting member is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the endoscope operating portion, and the control valve is arranged in the case member so as to be orthogonal to the connecting member.
Endoscope. 4. The endoscope according to item 1, wherein the control valves are arranged at a plurality of positions in a rotational direction with the longitudinal direction of the endoscope operation section as a central axis. 5. The endoscope according to item 1, wherein the control valve rotates relative to the endoscope operation section within a prescribed angle range and continuously changes in position.

6. The connecting member is arranged outside a circle having a radius extending from the central axis to an intersection of a diagonal line passing through the central axis and inclined by about 45 ° with respect to the control valve and an outer diameter of the control valve. The endoscope according to the fourth aspect, wherein: 7. The connecting member has a diagonal line that passes through the central axis from the center of rotation when the control valve rotates with respect to the endoscope operation section and is inclined at about 45 ° with respect to the control valve, and outside the control valve. The endoscope according to the fifth aspect, which is arranged outside a circle having a radius up to an intersection with the diameter.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, by incorporating the air / water feeding function into the endoscope main body, the complexity of preparation and the maneuverability during use are improved. Since the position of the air / water supply button can be easily changed according to the operator's preference, the operability of the endoscope is improved as a result.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view showing the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a portion near the operation portion of the endoscope.

4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the endoscope operation section taken along the line AA in FIG.

5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the endoscope operation section taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a usage state in which a control valve is operated while gripping an operation portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 7 is an endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the endoscope operating section taken along the line AA of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a view showing an endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the endoscope operation section taken along the line BB in FIG. 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope body, 2 ... Insertion part, 3 ... Operation part, 6 ... Objective lens, 7 ... Tip part, 8 ... Bending part, 9 ... Hard part, 10 ... Lens cleaning nozzle, 12 ... Front grip, 13 ... Operation part main body, 13a ... Engaging part, 14 ... Vertical bending lever, 15 ... Left / right bending lever, 16 ... Rear grip, 16a ... Engaging part, 1
7 ... Control valve, 20 ... Liquid supply line, 21 ... Air line,
22 ... Tip side liquid supply pipeline, 23 ... Tip side air pipeline, 24
... pedestal, 25 ... stanchion, 26 ... ferrule fixing member, 27 ... nut, 33.34 ... air / liquid feeding ferrule pin, 36 ... intersection, 3
7 ... diagonal line.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope in which a control valve for supplying a cleaning medium to a distal end portion of the endoscope is provided in an endoscope operation section, wherein a case member for accommodating and holding the control valve is provided in the endoscope operation section. A plurality of positions where the case member can be arranged while the connection member for connecting the case member to the endoscope operation section is arranged inside the case member. In the position, the position of the connecting member is a position that does not interfere with the control valve. 2. The first member according to claim 1, wherein the case member is capable of rotating relative to the endoscope operating portion within a specified angle range and continuously changing its position. Endoscope.